Going PLACES: Conflicting histories — and a future worth fighting for — in Denver

BY Patrick Moreno-Covington, PLACES Fellow and Program Officer, Rockwell Fund During TFN's PLACES Fellowship, we understand that when we go on a site visit, Fellows are in for new experiences where we learn from and alongside dynamic funders, community organizers and nonprofit leaders who offer their own expertise about their communities. We pair what we thought we once knew with new…

Going PLACES: What Does It Mean to be Remembered?

BY Jarryd Bethea, PLACES Fellow and Senior Research Associate, Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative  The time I spent during our recent PLACES Fellowship site visit in Cleveland demanded that I abandon the assumptions I arrived with: It's just another city in the Midwest. Leaving those assumptions behind meant that I could become better acquainted with Cleveland, practice community with the…

Going PLACES: We All We Got — Powering Up the Margins for Self-Determination

BY Qiana Williams, PLACES Fellow and Program Officer, Central New York Community Foundation “We All We Got,” was boldly written in black letters against the backdrop of a warm yellow wall in the reception area of the Village of Healing Center of Cleveland, Ohio. This community-based organization provides high-quality health and healing services for Black and brown women with dignity,…

Going PLACES: Love as a Force to Dismantle White Supremacist Systems

BY Maria Aquino, Senior Program Officer on the Priority Communities Initiative at The James Irvine Foundation, and 2023 PLACES Fellow   During the third PLACES site visit, our cohort ventured into the Southwest to Santa Fe, N.M. In the PLACES tradition, our first day provided some foundational context about the city, which was led by City of Santa Fe historian and author of…

Going PLACES: Fostering a community for youth in Detroit

BY Monae Dale, Program Manager, Housing & Economic Opportunity at the California Community Foundation, and 2023 PLACES Fellow As someone new in the philanthropy space, I was delighted to have the opportunity to apply for the PLACES fellowship as I prioritize professional development opportunities that challenge my thinking. I work as a program manager at the California Community Foundation…

Going PLACES: Heartache drives my purpose

BY Ronda Lee Chapman, National Equity Director, Trust for Public Land, and 2023 PLACES Fellow   "Keep Portland Weird" is a vibe, albeit one that has perhaps run its course. I lived in Stumptown for just over a decade in the early aughts. It’s where I cut my teeth as a sustainability generalist, dug deep into diversifying the environmental movement, and gained a rich understanding of…

Going PLACES: Perspectives, Reflections, and Authentic Storytelling

BY Shilpa Shankar, Program Associate; Equity Lead at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and a 2023 PLACES Fellow PLACES, which stands for Professionals Learning About Community, Equity and Sustainability, is a year-long learning journey designed to help sixteen professionals in philanthropy deepen their understanding of systemic inequities and acquire the tools necessary to challenge these…

Going PLACES: 2022 PLACES Fellowship – In Retrospect

BY Katrina Julien, Senior Program Officer at the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, and 2022 PLACES Fellow   For The Funders Network, PLACES stands for Professionals Learning About Community, Equity and Sustainability. This is something that all alumni know by the end of the program, as we are encouraged to embody those ideals and be able to introduce them and our cohort at any…

Going PLACES: Reflecting on inclusive strategies to economic growth in Oklahoma City

BY Jessica L. González Martínez, New Growth Innovation Network and 2022 PLACES Fellow   I debated for a while about how I wanted to share the experience I had in Oklahoma City. So much rustled in my head regarding opportunities lost and opportunities forged. Like most communities, there appears to be a centuries-long project of weaving and mending, movements and actions of healing…

Going PLACES | Reflections from Vermont: What can philanthropy do better?

BY Jennifer Pereira, PLACES Fellow Arriving in Burlington, Vt., after a five-hour car ride from Rhode Island, I was struck by the beauty of the landscape: the sun shining on Lake Champlain, surrounded by mountains. I was in Vermont for the first of three site visits as one of sixteen PLACES Fellows. PLACES is designed for participants to use learning, coaching and reflections onsite to explore…